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Nearly two years after its India debut, US-based Starbucks has forayed into Chennai where filter coffee finds more favour and the cafe culture is gaining acceptance. With first Starbucks Chennai outlet, the cafe chain has taken its store count to 50 in India, lagging behind its prior target of 50 stores by the end of 2012, which it later revised.

Tata Starbucks, the 50:50 joint venture between Starbucks Coffee Company and Tata Global Beverages, is currently present in five cities Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Bengaluru and Pune. It has opened its first store in the upmarket Velachery area in Chennai.

The company now plans to enter Hyderabad. The company did not give a timeline or details for new store openings.

We remain deeply excited about our journey in India, and we will continue to deliver on our promise of offering an unparalleled coffeehouse experience to every customer, every time they visit our stores, as well as nurturing our biggest assets our partners, said John Culver, group president, channel development and emerging brands, Starbucks China and Asia Pacific.

Unlike rival Cafe Coffee Day which has now upped its counter with a premium lounge format, Starbucks has been picky about its locations, with efforts put into competitive pricing, inviting ambience and wifi.